Tick Tock Bang Bang Review

First of all, let me address the elephant in the room. Tick Tock Bang Bang (I really dig the name!) is very similar to Superhot, but since it offers its own twists I would not easily call it a clone of Superhot. Dejobaan Games brought us a game where time passes normally only when you move and this is of course your most important weapon against the many robots that try to decimate you. Plan your every action and your every shot with precision and perform all the tricks you can!

Our hero is a stuntwoman who also happens to be a timebender. She performs stunts for blockbuster movies at her own peril, because anyone with time bending abilities would do just that, right? At your disposal you have a gun which blasts targets with plasma (I guess?), but can also be equipped with bullets that you use to destroy those nasty robots that attack you from a safer distance. Every shot must be calculated though, because ammo is scarce, and being left without bullets will almost certainly lead to your demise. Enemies drop ammo when destroyed, so that’s a plus.

Τhe game features a total of 51 levels. Some levels are rather easy and some are nearly impossible. The difficulty of the levels does not increase progressively and there will be times when you will be breezing through the levels and times when you will be trying the same level again and again and again, to eventually beat it out of pure luck. My favourite levels are the boss levels, where instead of trying to reach to finishing line you have to beat a huge machine by destroying its parts one by one while trying not to get killed by its lazers, rockets or/and minions. Fun times!

As for level variety, I can definitely say that although there are similarities between the levels, every so often new mechanics are introduced which help keep things fresh. Some levels feature references (of course there’s a Superhot reference!) and one level gave me a Clustertruck-y vibe. This is a huge plus for me, since I love references, especially when done in a humorous way.

The game is set in futuristic environements with bright colors and many special effects and explosion. Combine that with slow motion mechanics and you’ve got yourselves such an addictive gameplay, that you want to replay the levels just to feel like a badass, timebending, sharpshooter all over again. There’s a great variety of enemies, from spinning robots equipped with blades, to turrets and robots which shoot rockets at you. Then you have laser cutters and self-destructing mannequins that chase you (don’t try to outrun them, just kill ’em).

The game’s graphics could be better in my opinion. The game feels a little bit like a PS2 era game, which is not a bad thing by any means but I personally don’t really like this specific artstyle as much. I cannot tell if the art style of the game is retro-ish on purpose, but it surely gives the game its own character and makes it stand out. Although it looks “aged” the game runs very smoothly and left me with an overall good impression, even though I am not a huge fan of the said artstyle.

What is more, the game offers tools to let the players create their own levels and let other players play them. I tried some other players’ creation and I have to say that I was left impressed. When I tried my hand however at creating a level, I didn’t manage to do much, partly because I lack patience and partly because I couldn’t understand how to use the tools. Judging though by the other creations I’d say the tools are pretty powerful and allow you to create content that could be easily be included in the main game.

Verdict

Tick Tock Bang Bang is a unique game which offers many hours of fun and challenging gameplay, smooth performance and well places references. The inclusion of a game editor gives even more value to the game and allows its fans to get involved with it.